


The Elf, the Cat, and the Cheshire Wolf

by ladymal



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland, Eventual Romance, F/M, Weird and Trippy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-05-05 02:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5356919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladymal/pseuds/ladymal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Down and down and through the mirror she goes. Where she ends up, nobody knows. There's a wolf and a tree and a party three; one lost elf, will she ever get free?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A gift fic for destinyapostasy over on tumblr featuring their Lavellan, Ashanna. Will eventually include other connected one-shots but is a standalone, for now.

There had been a mirror, twice her height and with a golden frame embedded with flowing rivers of lyrium. _An Eluvian_ , Ashanna remembered thinking. She'd never seen one before but the story of Clan Sabrae's find had been spread far—part boast and part cautionary tale—and somehow she had found another entirely by chance.

She had taken the halla over a day's journey from the clan—farther than she'd meant to but also not nearly far enough—and found a crumbling ruin overtaken by the wilds. While the halla grazed, she'd explored, trusting her very large and fierce cat, Dinah, to watch over the herd.

Except Dinah had been with her when...when she touched the Eluvian. Or had fallen into. Or been _pulled in_. She wasn't certain what had happened. Her memories were chaotic and painful to think about and when she tried to make sense of them, they only became even more confused like paints mixed with too much water.

She remembered falling—tumbling head over heels as if she was a coin that had been flipped into the air—and a young human with a wide-brimmed, floppy hat and sad eyes telling her that she had to make it stop. _It wants to hold on. Why would it let go unless you make it?_ That hadn't made much sense then and still didn't now but eventually she had slowed before suddenly dropping onto solid earth. A moment later, there had been a heavy thump and a discontented yowl by her feet as Dinah joined her in whatever strange place she'd found herself in.

 _The Fade?_ she wondered. But it didn't feel much like the Fade she remembered.

Magic didn't dance along her skin and fill her lungs with each breath as it did while she was dreaming. It was there but distant. The air smelled odd like rich soil made damp by the sea but there wasn't even the distant sound of crashing waves. There was a bitter scent, too, that was unfamiliar but brought to mind warmth and steam and an unhappy face. The wind was howling in her ears but when she finally opened her eyes, she saw that it wasn't the wind at all.

Above her, a strange creature with fur like blue ink and large, pink eyes that glowed was clinging by its tail to a dark branch. It blinked, head swiveling, and opened its mouth to let out another drawn-out, hollow whistle. There was an answering cry from the same tree and more eyes in many colors began to peek from the gloom; little lamps in the shadows.

Other creatures were stirring, following some unknown cue to return to whatever activities her arrival had interrupted. Dinah growled—high-pitched and throaty—as something between a giant rabbit and a cat went snuffling by. She stared, too dazed to be alarmed. Its ears dragged along the ground as it hopped her way; it's long, fluffy tail swooshing behind it. Purring, it paused to bury its face in her hair and it shook like a halla bothered by flies. A bit of dew scattered from its teal and lavender fur and landed on her face and then it was wandering into the trees without a second look.

Ashanna sat up as Dinah brought her bulk closer against her side, ears splayed and fur bristling, and it was only then that she noticed the wolf. Fear finally breaking through, she scrambled to her feet and reached for a staff that wasn't there. The wolf didn't move from where it was sitting a few feet away, just watched with its head cocked so far to the side that it was almost upside down.

She froze, forcing herself not to run even though every ounce of her being screamed for her to. The wolf was massive—taller than her by at least a foot—and coal black with an unnatural number of eyes in a stormy blue. They blinked. Not all at once but in a cascade that made a shiver dart down her spine even as a bit of fascination set in. Its tail flicked and it flexed its paws into the dirt in such a way that it almost seemed that it was fidgeting.

"Curious," it said.

Its voice was male with an unfamiliar accent but was distinctly that of a person's. _Creators, what is going on?_ she thought desperately. _Where am I?_

"You...you can speak," she said.

He straightened and at her feet, Dinah hissed a warning.

"And you can, as well. Which of us is the unusual one, I wonder?"

"I would think that is obvious." Ashanna shook her head. "What are you? A demon?"

A deep sigh welled up from within him and his smile was sardonic as he spoke a short rhyme.

_Oh, Cheshire Wolf_

_Oh, Cheshire Wolf,_

_Wanderer contrite_

_He met a Dalish elf_

_And questions set to light._

"That wasn't an answer," she said warily.

"Was it not?" he asked but it was surprised rather than coy as if he had truly thought otherwise. "I would not think it matters, in the end. There is no answer I could give that would satisfy you. But no, I am no demon."

The wolf was correct; she wasn't satisfied but she set that aside for the moment.

"Is your name 'Cheshire Wolf?'" she asked.

He chuckled as if she'd told a clever joke and it wasn't at all the sort of chuckle a wolf should have; it was warm and breathy and ended with a snort that had her staring.

"To some. My name is Solas, if you please."

Politely but not deep, he inclined his head and she hesitated a beat before giving her own.

"Ashanna."

He blinked in the same, unsettling manner as before. "Excuse me?"

"My name. It's Ashanna."

"Ah, I see. May I ask how you came to be here, Ashanna?"

She hesitated again but the wolf—Solas—hadn't threatened her or moved from his spot, at all, and she was very, very lost. He may be able to tell her where she was, if nothing else, and he didn't seem unreasonable even if he was strange. Perhaps, she could even convince him to show her the way back to the Eluvian. It was Dinah that convinced her, however. The cat had settled though her ears and eyes were alert; if Solas became a danger, Dinah would let her know.

"I am not entirely sure," Ashanna said. Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention briefly but when she looked, there were only the still shadows among the trees that had been there before. "There was a mirror called an Eluvian and I must have touched it, somehow. I was falling and then I was here. Wherever 'here' is."

"A question for all that live." Solas nodded sagely. His tail swooshed against the earth and suddenly half of it was missing, startling her. "I am truly sorry. Beware the trees. They are hungrier than they seem."

He was beginning to vanish into nothing, like dust scattered in the wind, and she could only stare in shock. When he was nothing more than a white, toothy grin hanging in the air, she snapped back to herself with a flare of panic.

"Wait!" She took a half-step forward, reaching. The wolf didn't reappear but he didn't disappear the rest of the way either.

There was a long moment where the forest itself seemed to hold its breath and then he reformed, as solid as ever.

"I apologize," he said. "It is...It's too easy to forget the things that one should remember."

"What should you remember? And what did you mean by, 'beware the trees'?"

"You will discover that for yourself, in time."

He lunged at her suddenly with a snarl that showed off every bit of his gleaming jaws. There was no time to do anything other than throw herself to the side with a choked-off scream. She whirled, calling on her magic, but Solas wasn't facing her. He was standing, feet apart and head lowered, between her and a giant tree that was skittering back by its roots. The other trees groaned and swayed before they all settled beneath his glare.

"It isn't safe here," he told her as he relaxed, "and there are others that you should meet."

Ashanna brought a hand to her forehead. True panic was beginning to take hold, making her heart race and her breaths shallow, but she tamped it down as much as she was able. Solas was walking away—either unknowing or uncaring of the fact that she had yet to follow—and she quickly scooped Dinah up into trembling arms before trotting to catch up.

"Who am I meeting?" she asked.

"Whoever we find first." He paused, considering. "Or whoever finds us, I suppose."

"Are they going to be as difficult as you?" she grumbled.

Solas grinned, slow and a little frightening. "You will learn, Ashanna, that we're all mad here."


	2. Chapter 2

The wolf led her on a wandering course through the forest that Ashanna found herself struggling to follow. He wove and darted through trees that parted readily for him and crowded together for her, forcing her to go around or squeeze between their rough trunks or fake going one direction then really go another. Their branches grasped at her hair and clothes and whipped fine cuts into her cheeks. Their twisting roots rose up from the earth to tangle and trip up her feet.

_The trees are hungrier than they seem_ , Solas had told her. They seemed hungry enough she thought as she hugged Dinah close and leaped through an opening. Hungry for cat and elf, apparently. If she stumbled, if she fell, would they actually try to eat them? How could a tree even manage to eat anything besides dirt? An image of tooth-covered roots and their bodies chewed to a pulp between them flashed in her mind before she could stop it and she shuddered. It was only a thought but still, she stayed light on her feet as she hurried after the inky smudge that was Solas' tail as it bobbed and swooshed ahead of her.

With the effort of trying not to lose her guide or her balance, she didn't notice the little wisp slinking around her ankles until she'd stepped squarely onto it. A feeling like she was suddenly channeling lightning through her toes prickled her skin and she looked down to see it trapped beneath her weight. 

"Oh!"

She lifted her foot quickly. The poor thing wheezed—its green light flickering—but remained half-pressed into the soil.

"Please, do not step on the mome wraiths."

Ashanna flinched, eliciting a yowl from Dinah for squeezing her too tightly, and looked up at Solas with a slight glower. "It was an accident. I was trying to avoid the trees and it must have gotten underfoot."

He nodded in acceptance before leaning down to nudge at the wisp with his nose. It let out an agonized groan.

Stomach clenching with worry, she tucked Dinah's head below her chin. "Will it be alright?"

His many eyes blinked at her for a moment before his lips pulled back into what she hesitantly called a smile.

"You did it no permanent damage. It is simply indulging in dramatics since it's been given the opportunity." He prodded at the wisp a little more firmly. "Up, my friend. You've teased my companion enough."

The mome wraith didn't move. Sighing, Solas blew a rush of air at it strong enough to cause spark-like points of light to shoot up into the air that forced him to carefully subdue a sneeze. The wisp whined but peeled itself out of the dirt and fluttered around the three of them until Dinah almost swiped it out of flight. It mumbled and took off to dart along the ground behind Solas. More wisps—as many colored as a rainbow—edged their way out of the gloom and joined it in its dance across the forest floor.

"Ah, thank you," Solas said. "The path is most appreciated."

She furrowed her brow at him. "Path?"

As soon as she spoke, bricks decorated with worn gilding popped into existence underneath their feet and behind the whirling mome wraiths.

"Come," he said and turned, his tail flicking in a way more suited to a self-satisfied cat than a wolf. "The woods will no longer disturb you."

The wisps zipped ahead and the trees scurried out of their way, lifting up their roots like she always imagined the scandalized Orlesian ladies did in her smutty books. There was a distinctly offended air to them as they settled on either side of the unfolding road but they did nothing but rustle their leaves and groan complaints. She could only shake her head and follow as Solas walked away.

This time, she managed to fall into step with him rather than scramble behind. Dinah was getting heavy so after one last wary look at the surrounding forest, she let her jump from her arms with a brief admonishment to stay close. It earned her a scornful tail-twitch but Dinah trotted only a few feet away as requested. Solas watched their interaction with a curiosity that tilted his head nearly upside down before some of his eyes rolled to focus on her.

"I've never seen such a creature," he said. "Is it your pet?"

She frowned at him. "'She' not 'it' and she's my _friend_."

"My apologies, then."

He bowed his head and Ashanna wondered if he was mocking her. Most did whenever she said such things but there was nothing in his manner that she could see beyond courtesy. But he was a wolf—or looked mostly like one, at least—so how would she even begin to tell? The surreally of the situation took hold suddenly and made the world spin nauseatingly for a moment. A deep breath and it settled again.

_Do not fall apart_ , she scolded herself as she tucked her shaking hands into the crook of her elbows.

"What manner of creature is she?"

"She is a cat," she said. Solas looked somewhat alarmed so she elaborated. "A house cat. The shemlen breed them to hunt rodents—mice and rats."

Rather than alleviate whatever concern he was feeling, her words only seemed to make it worse. An intense scowl scrunched up his nose and pulled back his mouth until his sharp, white teeth showed. It didn't appear to be directed at her—or even Dinah who was padding ahead and watching the mome wraiths with interest—but fear still made her heart skip a beat.

"We're going in entirely the wrong direction," he declared.

She blinked and stared.

"We could...stop and go in a different direction." Solas gave her a look of the 'do not be ridiculous' variety. "Or not. Where _are_ we going, anyway?"

"Nowhere and somewhere; hares fleeing the snare as the hawk flies overhead."

_Sounds ominous_ , she thought. She watched the mome wraiths quietly for a bit. They had dispersed slightly and their dance had lost its structure because of it. The path continued to appear but the bricks were more haphazard than they had been before. One of the wisps lagged behind the others, prompting Dinah to pounce. She didn't miss but when she opened her paws, they were empty.

"When I mentioned the eluvian earlier, you recognized it, didn't you?" she asked. "Can you take me to it?"

Solas' gaze had become distant. From her question or something else she didn't know. When he finally spoke, his voice was deadly grim. "What burns without hearth, feasts without fare, drinks color crimson, and yet always hungers?"

She tensed and dug her nails into her arms. "Do you answer everything with a riddle?"

"It shuts in but not out," his eyes sharpened abruptly making her breath catch, "hunts but doesn't chase, and sings us into the snare."

Ahead, Dinah had stopped and lowered herself into a crouch, her fur bristling.

"Do you hear it, my friend?" Solas asked though Ashanna didn't think he was speaking to her. Dinah let out a long growl. "Nearby and always singing."

A column of glowing red crystal rose up into their path, growing like a tree from the earth. The mome wraiths scattered, squeaking with fear, and Dinah scrambled back to huddle against Ashanna's legs. She could hear now what the others must have been hearing—a high, ringing whine that could almost be mistaken for song. It made her jaw clench and crawled down her spine with a sick, eerie feeling.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Blood and force and madness."

He moved back, his claws catching on the path as if he was being dragged. The stormy blue of his eyes had gone almost completely black.

"We shouldn't linger. We should..."

Black drool dripped from his mouth and she hastened away from him, calling on what magic she could cast without her staff. He ignored her, head bowed and his chest heaving.

"Solas?"

His shoulders spasmed. With a jerk of his head, he took one step away from the crystal and then two and then he was racing off into the forest.

"Wait!" she choked out, not actually sure if it they'd be better off without him or not.

Whether he heard her or not, he didn't look back and in seconds he was gone. Ashanna's heart was loud in her ears as she eyed the looming trees and the singing red crystal. It had stopped growing, she realized, and had a shape that was vaguely tree-like. Something inside of it flashed. Was that—? Her stomach flipped as she peered closer. It flashed again, eyes blinking in a face stretched wide by a soundless scream. She froze, her own scream stuck in her throat. There was someone trapped. She had to get them out. She had to—

"Oi! You daft?"

The voice startled her but not as much as the hand that yanked on her shoulder did. Ashanna leaped practically out of her skin and whirled, her fist still raised to pound on the crystal. The woman behind her—an elf in a mustardy tunic with a full quiver at her belt and an unstrung bow on her back—scowled and crossed her arms, unimpressed.

"What about magical glowy shite says, 'Touch me! It'll be fun and we'll all have a good laugh'?"

Ashanna shook her head. "There's someone inside!"

But when she looked again, the face she'd seen was gone. Her head ached and she stared at the crystal in confusion.

"Get it?"

Ashanna didn't, really, but her skin was crawling and she suddenly, desperately wished she was far, far away from the crystal.

"Who are you?" she asked the other elf.

"Name's Sera." Sera pulled an arrow from her quiver and began balancing it on her fingertip. "Jenny, sometimes. Used to be Red before Drooly-tits ruined it for everybody."

"What?"

"Nevermind that. You anything besides some elfy-elf Cheshire Arse dragged in?" She made a rude noise. "As if we didn't have enough of those already."

"He didn't drag me anywhere," Ashanna said a little coolly and bent down to hold Dinah close. "And it's Ashanna."

"Aight, don't get your frilly things in a twist. Was just asking."

Sera gave the arrow a twist to make it spin. A well of blood formed but she didn't seem to notice. Her tongue stuck out from the corner of her mouth as she focused.

"Do you know where he went?" Ashanna asked.

"Where who went?"

"Solas."

"How should I know? Is that a C-A-T?"

The arrow clattered to the ground as Sera's attention shifted to the two of them. Ashanna watched her warily.

"Her name is Dinah," she said.

The smile that took over Sera's face was positively devilish. "You too elfy for a bit of fun, Ashanna, or what?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Depends on what you mean by 'fun.'"

"Oh, _thbpth_! Pranks, of course. Now, come on or we're going to miss the party!"

" _What_ party?"

But Sera ignored her in favor of latching onto arm with a grip like iron. Ashanna could only follow behind as they were dragged away from the incomplete path and into the trees.


End file.
